Eternal Snow
by Twelf Bell
Summary: Watanuki, 8 years old, runs away from home because he's lonely, and ends up at a temple. Drabble 27 from C.O.o.t.B. continued, as requested. AU One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own xxxHOLiC, nor do I own Full Moon wo Sagashite, nor am I acquaintances of CLAMP or Changin' My Life. I own nothing but this story.

**A/N:** _Happy holidays, everyone!_ Especially requester **Angel of the Mirror**! Ah, also, the beginning is the same as the drabble, but changed a bit. I only had _that_ little amount of time to type the drabble when listening to the song you know? :3 **~SEi**

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It was cold. Watanuki looked at the winter sky. He hugged himself, trying to get warm. _It's so cold..._

Watanuki was wearing only a t-shirt and shorts, with a thin layer of socks inside worn-out sneakers. Only 8 years old, and had ran away from home. It was so lonely at home anyway. His parents were gone... the neighbors were annoying... and he had no friends. His ability to see spirits was the reason for this.

He felt so lonely. Lonely... lonely... lonely...

Suddenly, he saw a temple. It looked so welcoming. So warm.

He looked around. There was no one on the snow-filled streets. Shivering, he looked at the large gate, deciding whether to enter or not. The large gate seemed to have a pleasing aura to it. It felt like it was pulling him in. He let go of his arms and sighed, letting the force pull him in, and walked in.

**x o x o x**

Doumeki Haruka was sweeping (not shoveling) snow away from the large temples' grounds and to the sakura trees' trunks. It was a waste for snow to melt on ground when you could use it to water plants even though it was winter. His large gray scarf was tightly wrapped around his neck, and despite that he was wearing only a yukata, he was warm. _You'll get warm when you keep using energy_, he had told himself when he stood at the temple doors looking out at the white grounds around him, deciding whether or not to make all the snow go away.

Sweeping the last bit of snow toward the sakura tree he was nearby, he held the broom lightly in one hand and sighed. He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his other hand and thought, _Whew! What a work out. I feel like I'm getting too old for this! Next time, I'll have Shizuka help me with this._ He grinned at the thought.

Suddenly, he heard some tiny footsteps behind him. He turned around at the sound and saw a dark silhouette amidst the buoyant layer of mist near the temple gates, but it cleared as the small figure came closer to view. It was a small boy. And he was shivering.

Haruka immediately put the broom down to lean against the sakura tree and ran as fast as his age allowed him to, over to the boy. As he ran, he untangled his scarf, and when he got to the boy, he wrapped it around the boy's neck. The scarf was a bit huge, covering half the boy's face... but the boy stopped shivering. Instead, he started crying. A quiet sob it was, just tears flowing down his cheeks, with no groans or moans. Haruka led the boy toward the temple, exchanging no words with his guest.

**o x o x o**

"Shizuka! Come here, please!" called the grandfather as he gently pushed his guest towards the dining room. He seated Watanuki down on a seat at the dining table and told him to wait as he got something for him to drink.

As the old man went off towards the kitchen, Watanuki pulled the scarf from his face, and exhaled loudly. It was hard to breathe through the heavy wool scarf that the old man had put around his neck. He pulled it off of him, since it was making his neck itchy as well. When the scarf was completely in his hands, he heard someone say, "Oi."

Watanuki turned around towards the door, and saw dressed in a kimono, someone around his age. He was quite surprised since the voice was masculine and deep... and this person...

"Never seen a boy dressed in a kimono?" The kimono-dressed one smirked.

"Yes I have!" Watanuki lied. He didn't want this boy to think that he _hadn't._ He folded his arms and looked the other way, pouting.

"Hmph. Anyway," the boy started, "That's grandfather's scarf so be careful with it. If you get it dirty, then you'll have to pay for it."

_This guy...!_ "I don't have to pay for it! You see? I'm not getting it dirty!" He held the scarf up at the boy, annoyed. Then, tears started up and he looked down at his socks which had a hole where the big toe was. He mumbled, "I don't even _have_ money so I _won't_ get it dirty..."

"Shizuka!"

Watanuki looked up at the doorway where the boy was, as well as the older looking version of the boy that stood behind him with a tray in his hands. Haruka walked past his grandson and towards Watanuki. As he placed the tray of tea and biscuits on the table, he asked Watanuki: "Did he make you cry?"

"No! He just started crying on his own! He's not a man since he cries."

"Shizuka. I wasn't talking to you." Haruka gave a little chuckle towards Watanuki. "Don't mind my grandson... uh... What's your name, little one?"

Watanuki didn't know whether to give a fake name or his real name. His parents had told him plenty of times to not talk to strangers and this old man here was one, even though he had brought him to safety as well as given him food... though he hadn't eaten or drunk them yet. _But still..._ Watanuki looked up at Haruka's warm smiling face. He then looked over at the grandson Shizuka, who was glaring at him, though it didn't quite show on his face. Watanuki looked down at his socks again and twisted the scarf around in his hands. "Um..."

Haruka smiled. "It's alright. You don't need to tell me. I'm Doumeki Haruka." He gestured over to his grandson and said, "And he's my grandson..." He said, "Come over here, Shizuka, and properly introduce yourself."

Shizuka just glared again (mostly because Watanuki was ruining the poor scarf), turned promptly around and stomped down the hallway in his kimono towards his bedroom. _It's not fair!_ he screamed silently to himself, slamming the sliding door loudly.

Haruka laughed aloud. "That's my grandson alright." He smiled at the empty doorway.

"I'm..."

"Hn?" The old Doumeki looked at Watanuki, who was squirming in his seat again.

"I'm Watanuki Kimihiro," he whispered.

Haruka seated himself in the chair across from the little boy. "It's very nice to meet you, Watanuki." And he smiled an all-knowing smile. Watanuki smiled back, not knowing that this very person was going to be a very important factor in his future life filled with nothing but spirits, wishes and Shizuka.

**THE END.**

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**A/N:** **Merry Christmas!** I really did not know what to say in this story.. since it was originally a music meme drabble thingamabob... (sigh) I had to end it too. Somehow. That's the reason why I don't write one-shots ;_;

I tried my best to view Doumeki when he was a little boy but... it came out like that. Rebellious because Haruka-san was being nice to someone else other than him.. lol. **I DID NOT IMPLY HARU/WATA OKAY? **It just turned out that way! D: **~SEi**


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